Reviews

Ruthie Foster and her band put on an interesting show at the L2 Center in Denver this past Saturday. Foster came on the music scene in the 1990s with a powerful and soulful gospel voice, often compared to that of Ella Fitzgerald.

Expecting an opening act, we arrived at the venue an hour after the doors were to open. There turned out to be no opening act, and the wait for the band went on for a seemingly endless 2++ hours. There was little entertainment aside from an unruly hula hooper among the large, otherwise well behaved Broward County crowd.

Going to see Yonder Mountain String Band in your t-shirt and shorts in February is pretty special, especially when you’re from Boulder. I was lucky enough to catch YMSB last night, which for me is fortuitous timing considering I am in town visiting my mom (and planning a monster trip to The Galapagos next week).

“In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, -- no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, -- my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space, -- all mean egotism vanishes.”

Saturday night, I had the privilege of catching an up and coming Boulder folk band called Gipsy Moon. They combine bluegrass, soul, alternative rock, and a little bit of gipsy jazz, weaving an intricate aura of acoustic song.

Perpetual Groove has been a staple of the Jamband scene for almost 15 years now. Their studio recordings have been received with success, but it is really their live shows and dedicated fans that have kept P-Groove on top of the scene and riding that momentum into their sophomore decade.

Band of Skull's new record, quite an improvement over their previous full-length album (2009's Baby Darling Doll Face Honey), showcases a more emotional and lyrically complex side of the band. Entitled Sweet Sour, the album lives up to its name. The group mixes hard-hitting, heavy rock and roll with intellectual, soft, at times psychedelic alternative rock songs.

Since 2003, Los Angeles based post-rockers El Ten Eleven have been creating some of the most unique music around. The duo, composed of bassist/guitarist Kristian Dunn and drummer Tim Fogarty, combines elements of pop, electronic, rock, and dance music into soundscapes that often defy description.